September 21, 2011
BEWARE! WHAT IDOLS ARE DRAWING YOU AWAY FROM GOD'S HEART?
Hosea 5
John Jarrett
Central Truth
"If those who hold influence over others fail to lead toward the spiritual uplands, then surely the path to the lowlands will be well worn," J. Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership: Principles of Excellence for Every Believer.
Key Verse | Hosea 5:6
They will go with their flocks and herds
To seek the LORD, but they will not find Him;
He has withdrawn from them.
(Hosea 5:6)
Hosea 5
Punishment Coming for Israel and Judah
1
Hear this, O priests!
Pay attention, O house of Israel!
Give ear, O house of the king!
For the judgment is for you;
for you have been a snare at Mizpah
and a net spread upon Tabor.
2
And the revolters have gone deep into slaughter,
but I will discipline all of them.
3
I know Ephraim,
and Israel is not hidden from me;
for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore;
Israel is defiled.
4
Their deeds do not permit them
to return to their God.
For the spirit of whoredom is within them,
and they know not the LORD.
5
The pride of Israel testifies to his face;
1
5:5
Or in his presence
Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in his guilt;
Judah also shall stumble with them.
6
With their flocks and herds they shall go
to seek the LORD,
but they will not find him;
he has withdrawn from them.
7
They have dealt faithlessly with the LORD;
for they have borne alien children.
Now the new moon shall devour them with their fields.
8
Blow the horn in Gibeah,
the trumpet in Ramah.
Sound the alarm at Beth-aven;
we follow you,
2
5:8
Or after you
O Benjamin!
9
Ephraim shall become a desolation
in the day of punishment;
among the tribes of Israel
I make known what is sure.
10
The princes of Judah have become
like those who move the landmark;
upon them I will pour out
my wrath like water.
11
Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment,
because he was determined to go after filth.
3
5:11
Or to follow human precepts
12
But I am like a moth to Ephraim,
and like dry rot to the house of Judah.
13
When Ephraim saw his sickness,
and Judah his wound,
then Ephraim went to Assyria,
and sent to the great king.
4
5:13
Or to King Jareb
But he is not able to cure you
or heal your wound.
14
For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
and like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I, even I, will tear and go away;
I will carry off, and no one shall rescue.
15
I will return again to my place,
until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face,
and in their distress earnestly seek me.
Dive Deeper | Hosea 5
Chances are if you're reading this, you are a person of influence. More importantly, if you are a follower of Christ, He has called you to be a leader of men. No matter where you may see yourself in the chain of leadership, God has called you to influence others for His purpose.
When I think of my life in light of this passage, I see the wickedness and arrogance of my heart -- the way that I am drawn away from the satisfaction and fulfillment of knowing the heart of God and instead choose to be enticed by my own sinful desires of consumerism, individualism, and materialism.
When we read these passages, we mostly read them as purely historical stories. I think, if we are honest with ourselves, we are often times in the exact same boat as the Israelites. We are so full of arrogance and pursuing self-comforts that even if the Lord were to shout at us, we still would be unable to hear His voice. God is passionately pursuing us. How are we posturing our lives and hearts in order to be in intimate communication with Him?
May our prayer be the same as Agur in Proverbs 30:7-9:
"Two things I asked of You,
Do not refuse me before I die:
Keep deception and lies far from me,
Give me neither poverty nor riches;
Feed me with the food that is my portion,
That I not be full and deny You and say, 'Who is the LORD?'
Or that I not be in want and steal,
And profane the name of my God."
Discussion Questions
1. What areas of your life are you living in moral carelessness and dabbling in sin?
2. Are those areas keeping you from experiencing the fullness of the Holy Spirit?
3. Who are the people God has put in your life to influence for His purpose? Are you leading them well or leading at all?
WEEKLY FAMILY ACTIVITY
HOSEA 3-7 (SEPTEMBER 19-23)
Read Hosea 6:1-7.
ACTIVITY: Go on a scavenger hunt looking for things in your house that have been broken before, but you or your family did something to "restore" it. When you have found several items, talk about how the item was broken, how it made you feel when it was broken, and what you/your parent(s) did to help "restore" the item.
The story of all the books of the prophets in the Bible talk about the nation of Israel and their disobedience towards God. The book of Hosea is no different. One of the visual images Hosea uses is idolatry, which means a believer in God breaking his covenant/promise to love the One True God.
In the middle of this book, Hosea talks about what it would look like for Israel to repent of its disobedience and return to the Lord.
Have you ever disobeyed your parents? How did it make you feel? How did it make them feel? Do your parents still love you even when you have disobeyed and broken their trust?
Was does it look like to disobey God, to break your covenant with Him? When we disobey God, how do we restore our relationship with Him? What does it mean to repent and ask for forgiveness?
If you have never "repented" of your disobedience, follow Hosea's encouragement and return to the Lord, seeking healing from Him.